Seriously, a 70-year old man who was a symbol of youth culture so long ago that it feels like ancient history, fronting a band that MUCH more recently captivated youth culture, seemed like an impossible combination. How could it not suck?

And so, this morning, much to my surprise, when I saw the following Beatle-Nirvana clip, I experienced shock rather than schlock.

It.Was.Awesome.

Oh, McCartney looked old, and bassist Krist Novoselic looked, by turns, like he was either apathetic, going to vomit, or looking out for snipers.

BUT, Dave Grohl characteristically channeled Animal the Muppet, powerfully propelling the song, an original titled Cut Me Some Slack, and McCartney showed his slide guitar chops, chops that I didn’t even know he had, playing some frickin’ weird, but oh-so-cool, square-bodied, 4-string, electric resonator guitar.

The song, to my ears, drew a direct line from McCartney’s 1968 Beatles song Helter Skelter to any number of Nirvana songs, sounding completely legit and relevant, however improbable it all seemed to me at first.

Enjoy!

(UPDATE: For reasons that boggle the mind, the clip’s been removed from YouTube. It’s a real shame too. Such stupidity. Seems a no-brainer to me to keep the show available for streaming everywhere possible, and keep the phone lines open, so that they can collect even more money for Sandy victims.)

You know, Pete, I thought about not approving your comment, not because I can’t handle someone disagreeing with me, but because you were so hostile.

But then I thought I’d call you out on it.

I don’t understand why you couldn’t just share this interesting information about how much Kurt and Dave loved the Beatles, or add something that I actually already know but failed to mention, that McCartney and Grohl have played together in the past, you know, as a helpful gesture.

Instead, you lash out at a complete stranger, sounding like an immature, know-it-all asshole.

although Paul is old, and the 60s may seem like ancient history they redefined rock and roll during their time, and have remained an influence for over 50 years. Also, i don’t see why age should play a major role in a question of talent.